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Sarina's review on the BenQ RL2450H RTS Gaming Monitor!
 

The RL2450H took me no longer than 10 minutes to put together. The bottom of the unit is split into two pieces: a stand and a base. These two connect with an audible click, then all you need to do is lock the panel onto the base, and when you hear another click you're good to go. Full marks for ease of setup. Off to a great start.

Furthermore, it presents a remarkably unique design with its matte black bezel and matte screen finish. It has a nice vibrant red trim along the base and the LED lights are a perfect soft dim colour which is a great if you don't like blindingly bright lights during your stay in the basement. What I really noticed is that the BenQ RL2450H has a stronger and sturdier build compared to my old monitor. The stand is also uniquely shaped, with a great looking curved base that ensures the monitor stays upright at all times. BenQ also kept its branding to a minimum with no overt logos and unwanted markings, unlike my old Samsung monitor which felt the need to let me know what the meaning of life was.

The screen itself is exceedingly responsive, almost flawlessly so. The 24" panel provides 2ms response time and the supports Full HD 1080p resolution. The HDMI, DVI-D and D-Sub connectivity options are hidden behind the monitor which is a great idea because some people like to wall mount their monitors (as I understand most console players do). It also has the Black eQualizer, which is a feature that makes the darker spots on the monitor brighter whilst keeping the lighter spots from becoming brighter, personally I found it great for dealing with shadow-ninjas in CS:GO!


The Display mode and Smart Scaling features also allow you to streamline your in-game experience, interchanging instantly between different screen sizes, using the Display mode. This is really useful for anyone that is used to a 4:3, 16:10 or 16aspect ratio and want to keep their settings consistent. The Smart Scaling feature also allows you to customize the image without restraint, by scaling the screen content to any custom size as set by you! It also has a newly designed OSD that enables you to suitably change your settings in a responsive, horizontal slide out menu display. I found it was exceedingly comfortable to comfortable to navigate between options and settings for aspect ratio, sizing, color and the Black eQualizer feature.


I understand that BenQ collaborated with the knowledge of players from the famous StarTale StarCraft 2 team to create this gaming monitor. It performed superbly with sharp detail and no lag which shows it doesn't stop it from being a versatile, all-genre gaming monitor. However, to sate my curiosity, I did have to test it out on StarCraft 2. I may not be a pro (that's something only a pro would say) but from what I can tell, the game requires the player to have the reaction time of 0.01 and a faultless focus. The monitor helps this by offering a specific 'RTS mode' which is directed at providing this focus to the professional gamer. The graphics were sharper and everything dark was made to seem brighter and more vibrant. I could easily identify details and units on both my mini-map and in-game. Even though I am a total StarCraft 2 noob, this really made grouping units and throwing attacks at my opponent easy.


I also got the chance to ask Team Immunity's Starcraft 2 players what they thought!


"The BenQ RL2450H is a refreshing change from the monitors I've used previously. The ability to change to a monitor setting purely for gaming (on the fly) to reduce the stress on my eyes is a welcome addition. The image quality is crisp and the input lag is nonexistent. Input delay being the delay between doing something and it showing up on the screen. "
- Bradley "tgun" Seymour
www.twitter.com/iM_tgun



"My new BenQ RL2450H is like no other monitor I have ever used before. . I am incredibly impressed by the different Picture Modes the BENQ RL2450H has in store, which are also incredibly easy to switch around. As a pro-gaming of SCII, the RTS mode is by far the best fit for me - The image quality is so vibrant, crisp and clear that have me noticing some of the animations and textures of the SCII game I have never noticed before, absolutely vivid visual experience! One other great feature I notice was the non-existent input delay, it is almost like I have an unfair advantage. In my opinion, the monitor you must have as a Pro-Gamer."
- Zi "Light" Ray
https://twitter.com/ImmunityLight



"I actually had an older version of a BenQ monitor and I didn't realise how much difference it actually makes. Receiving the new monitor, I went from 5ms to 2ms (response time) and I noticed the difference in that, it was insane and I was really happy and surprised - playing without any lag is so nice.
I really like how BenQ has the RTS feature; it looks a lot better than normal. Everytime I got to events now, I hope that the BenQ monitor is there so I can use the setting – it's really nice. "
- Tim "MaFia" He
https://twitter.com/iM_MaFia



To end this review I've listed the Pros and cons of the BenQ RL2450H

PROS:
2ms
Black eQualizer is OP!
Quality build with GAMING aesthetic
User Friendly UI for easy tweaking
Doesn't cost an arm and a leg
Light and easily transportable

CONS:
No height adjustability for this model
Doesn't let me download food
Won't tell me it loves me

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to check out the BenQ Australia facebook and website! (https://www.facebook.com/BenQAustralia - http://www.benqshop.com.au/)
And another thanks to:
Josh "deathdoG" Edwards - https://twitter.com/iM_deathdoG
Team Immunity - www.team-immunity.com / www.facebook.com/teamimmunity / www.twitter.com/teamimmunity

and mine www.twitter.com/immunity_sarina